Provocation and Betrayal
by Lokio
Summary: After a mission failure, Haibara is pushed too far and the dove is silenced forever. Shinichi is left to pick up the pieces and hunt down the murderer who dared to steal his most precious person. Will he be able to catch her before his psyche completely breaks and he succumbs to his own demons? (DARK! Fic. KaiShin pairing but not Kaishin Centric. Chapter 2 being rewritten)
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **The Art of Provocation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito

**Rating:** M for Murder, Death, Depression, Betrayal and mentions of Suicide.

_**TRIGGER**_

* * *

"Haibara! Wait!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a sole finger squeezed the trigger of the 9mm semi-automatic grasped tightly between two very steady and very calm hands.

_CRACK_

The sound reverberated through the dark and silent forest. Shinichi, eyes wide and one arm extended in front of him, could only stare in horror at the taller shadowed form beside him and the fine spray of blood filling the night air as the bullet tore through their upper chest.

_CRACK. CRACK. CRACK._

The sound repeated three more times in rapid succession, the form jerking as each shot landed squarely in their torso. The person stumbled, an expression of shocked pain crossing their face, before falling backwards and landing with a soft thud on the grassy floor.

Five seconds.

Four shots.

One murder.

Instincts suddenly kicked in like a blow to the gut and Shinichi threw himself forward, scrambling on the wet grass as he fell down beside the bloody body. He didn't give a second thought to the person, the murderer, standing only a few feet away who was watching with a carefully neutral expression.

Small hands folded over the wound closest to their heart, the mini detective throwing the full weight of his child body down on thin arms as he tried to stop more of the thick, sticky liquid from spilling out.

It wasn't very effective and rather pointless because he knew the person was already dead. A glance at the glassy, half lidded expression was all he needed.

Still, he had to do something. To try. Because... because this person wasn't allowed to die. They had promised that they wouldn't and Shinichi had believed them. He pressed harder against the wound, biting hard on his own lip until he tasted a familiar metallic tang.

It was all he could do as he watched the heavy flow of blood continue to seep through his fingers as if they didn't even exist, gushing steadily over silky fabric before pooling into the grass by his knees.

Red. Red. _Red._

At one point in time Shinichi had loved the color red. It reminded him of Ran - dear, sweet, wonderful Ran. His long time childhood friend and his first love. Did you know? It was her favorite color, which was pretty fitting if he thought about it. Red was considered warm and positive - a color of action that represented love and passion. Ran was all that, and more, so in turn he had come to appreciate it as an extension of her.

However, being a detective he soon started to see the color in a whole new light.

Death. Destruction. Violence. It was all red.

The color of blood - A human's life line. Lose to much and it is over. Murderers practically bathed in the stuff, spilling the most valuable thing a human being could own like it was running water. And for what? Petty things like greed or hatred.

Humans were always such fickle creatures.

That is why detectives were sharks. Sharks had a superb sense of smell - with even more sensitive hearing - that could detect a single droplet of blood. They then let their senses guide them to the location of their target and once they've seized a hold of him in powerful jaws, they sink in their teeth until the opponent finally gives up.

Murder. Evidence. Confession. It was always the same. The reasons varied from person to person but the start and end result were always the same.

Shinichi was a detective therefore he was a shark. Sharks didn't save people. Sharks didn't stop murders from happening. Why was he a detective again? How did that saying go?

_"...Detectives don't amount to anything more than critics who look at the remains and try to find faults."_

A smirk crossed his face and he suddenly started laughing - a maniacal kind of laughter - and rested his forehead on top of his hands, ignoring the red stain that coated them.

_"... a critic who follows in our footsteps."_

Shinichi had never heard truer words be spoken.

Tears suddenly started to stream down his cheeks and he sniffed. He was a shark and a critic. He couldn't save anyone - including the person he cared for most.

In time the laughter slowly faded as his sides started to painfully object to the abrupt and tiring action. Instead it was replaced by the occasional hiccup and Shinichi sat back, bloodied hands falling into his lap. He stared at the body in front of him with a small amount of emotional detachment before reaching out to tentatively grasp fingers that were much larger than his own. He then lifted the hand towards him, pressing his face against the still warm flesh with a broken moan.

Shinichi realized he was now faced with a single, very important question: What was he going to do?

Going back home wasn't an option.

His old life had slowly been erased over the past few years as Conan. It had been hard enough having to adjust to being deaged ten years; from a seventeen year old to a seven year old but now he was nine rather than nineteen. Two years had passed since that fateful day and while Shinichi had been optimistic at the start it wasn't long before depression had struck him hard as his body slowly started to grow up all over again.

It'd be a lie if he said he had never considered suicide during that time. However, Shinichi had never been that much of a chicken. He had a too strong sense of justice and suicide was a murder, even though it was by his own hands rather than someone else.

At one point though, he had begun to accept the fact that he would likely be Conan forever. Strangely enough Shinichi had no problems with that and it was not because he didn't want his old body back - he really did. But, it would have been fine if it never happened because he had found someone. The one person who had accepted him despite his small stature - the one who would continue to accept him and be with him even if he never turned back into Shinichi because they saw the true him under his childish facade. In time his depression had started to fade and he had begun to look at the brighter side of things.

But now they were gone and Shinichi was alone once more.

And to top it all off his last chance to find the antidote was gone thanks to the mission earlier; it was official. Life had finally reached rock bottom just when he thought he couldn't go any lower.

The detective froze as something suddenly snapped - or clicked - in the back of his mind. Shoulders hunched, body shaking as his teeth ground together. He laid the hand gently down onto the breathless chest and climbed to his feet turning to look at the third figure who, through it all, had stood motionless with the gun still gripped tightly in the hand at their side.

All because of _her_. She did this. She took away both of his chances at a happy life because she was being selfish - because she wasn't happy didn't mean he couldn't be. It was all her fault anyways - she had created that poison and had taken away his first life. Now she had destroyed his second chance without so much a blink of an eye. He really had been a fool to trust her.

The detective took a shaky step towards the person but paused when he caught the glint of moonlight on the barrel which was raised once more. He grinned wide, lips twitching as he started to laugh again and took another step forward ignoring the dangerous click from the weapon. Once he was a foot away from them did he stop and he lifted the glasses from his nose throwing them at the feet of the killer.

"What is the matter Haibara? Don't want to finish the job?" He practically purred in a husky voice.

"You weren't part of the job, Kudou-kun." The answer was soft but emotionless.

Shinichi's cheek twitched at that, the smile gone.

"Why? Why the fuck not?!" He shouted. The least she could do was give the common curtsy of finishing him off as well.

There was heavy silence as the last of his voice echoed through the trees.

"Not part of the job." She repeated slowly.

Shinichi growled before abruptly closing the last few steps between them and grabbed her hands with his own. A brief struggle ensued before the detective managed to get the barrel directly over his heart. He leaned hard against the metal, moving so his face was close to hers.

Haibara's eyes widened slightly as she stared at him. Splotches of blood were smeared over his skin in some sort of sick design, dark blue eyes half lidded as they were leveled dangerously at her own. The curl of his mouth was mischievous and challenging.

"Do it."

The words were a whisper but they sent a jolt through her spine like lightning. She swallowed hard before tightening her own jaw.

"I can't."

She watched as the expression turned sour and didn't bat an eye as she felt a finger close over her own.

"Please, Haibara. I've got nothing left... You win. Your damn organization won." There was a soft sigh, "I can't take my own life. But you can. Please."

There was hidden pleading in the tone and Haibara felt her resolve falter just the slightest. Releasing a soft breath of air in the form of a sigh, she closed her eyes and bowed her head to hide the smirk.

Shinichi watched the ordeal with muted interest. Would she do it? It would be so much more convenient if she did. He was both surprised and not when he saw the smirk as she raised her head once more. It then tilted backwards, chin lifted up in a loftily superior fashion as she looked down at him.

"When I said I can't... I meant it." Stunned by the proclamation, his mouth opened to object once more but was stopped as she continued, "and not because I don't want to, Kudou-kun."

He then felt her finger move back, pressing against the trigger.

Shinichi sucked in a breath, waiting for the pain and following darkness. How would death feel? He was surrounded by it all the time and knew it well. In fact this was where it all began. He was supposed to have died when he was fed that poison, and it was one of the few times he had come so close. But in the end close wasn't going to cut it. The fact remained that he had never actually experienced death and for a moment there was a pang of fear.

At least... he could be with that person now. His eyes slipped closed at the mental image of the face that looked so similar to his own, their wide smile and the laughter as they teased his hair playfully.

_click_

His eyes flew open at the sound and he looked at Haibara once more. The woman was still staring at him with that smirk that only seemed to widen as he came to the realization. Her grip on the weapon eased as he yanked it from her grasp and pressed it against his chest.

He squeezed the trigger.

_click. click... clickclickclickclick_

Nothing. His hand grabbed the bottom of the handle, forcefully removing the magazine to peer inside. It was empty - the bullets were gone. Shinichi fell to his knees, slamming the useless weapon against the ground.

"You... you... bastard."

"My my Kudou-kun. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Haibara replied sickeningly sweet as she stepped away from him.

Why? Why did she have to do this? Why couldn't she just stop toying with him for one moment. One single fucking moment and be serious about everything. He leaned over pressing his forehead against the ground, choking back a defeated sob.

Haibara watched the display, ignoring the pang in her chest. With another sigh she looked down at the metallic item in her hand angling it as she carefully looked it over.

"Kudou-kun, are you really going to mope there all night? Is that really the way a detective should be acting?"

The sobbing faded as the small body tensed in front of her. He lifted his head to stare with an expression that was partly unreadable.

"What?"

Now they were getting somewhere. Haibara rested her hands on her hips, "There has been a murder, Kudou-kun. Someone very dear to you. Very close. Are you really going to just let the killer get away? Are you really a detective?"

Shinichi continued to stare at her before running his hands through his hair and barked out a laugh. It wasn't as maniacal as before but there was a hidden lilt of craziness under the breathy sound.

How could he have been so stupid?

Shinichi was a detective. Shinichi was a shark. And what did sharks and detectives do? They followed the scent of blood and hunted murderers. They were ingrained to bring justice to those who needed it and if there was one person who needed it more than anyone else, it was his friend laying dead behind him.

There was the murder and it was Shinichi's job to bring the killer to justice.

He could worry about his own life afterwards. Putting himself before the job... honestly, how silly of him.

"You are right Haibara." Shinichi said with a chuckle and picked up the glasses that were still sitting in the grass before climbing to his feet. Placing them on his nose he looked at her with that mischievous smile, hands in his pockets. "I am Edogawa Conan. Detective."

Haibara granted herself a brief smile. "Edogawa-kun? Not Kudou-kun?"

Shinichi - no - Conan shrugged. "Kudou Shinichi died tonight... Or maybe he died years ago. Who knows? The question is are you ready, Haibara?"

Her eyes narrowed briefly at that and she gave a curious tilt of her head. She shrugged, "What are you going to do? Arrest me?"

"I didn't bring handcuffs with me." Was Conan's curt answer and he raised his arm, "I'll just put you to sleep." Fingers pushed up the sleeve of his jacket and grasped his wrist. His _naked _wrist.

Surprise flashed across his face and Haibara gave a laugh. He glared at her as she twirled the missing watch around a finger, "You shouldn't have left yourself so open, Edogawa-kun."

"Bastard." He growled and crouched down, fingers reaching for the dial on his sneaker. Fine. He would just render her unconscious another way and his gaze flitted around the small clearing for something to kick.

_snick_

Conan tensed at the familiar sound and jerked his attention back to her. Eyes widen and he stepped back but was too late. He felt the prick of the needle as it buried into his skin and he slumped forward, fighting against the sudden wave of drowsiness.

"Remember Edogawa-kun." The voice was faint and sounded so far away.

Blue eyes blearily looked up at the form hovering over him as tried to focus on the words.

"Find me. Find me and bring me to justice. You can do that much, right Meitantei?"

With a sense of detachment Conan felt his body being lowered gently onto the ground and his head rolled to the side. White filled his fading vision and he reached out a shaky hand to grab the sleeve of the suit next to him. His fingers balled the fabric weakly, eyes finally slipping closed and the lull of sleep swept over him.

_I'm sorry... Kaito._

* * *

**Author's Notes: **It was suggested that I should try and write a darker toned story since a friend thought I wrote too much fluffy stuff.. That and I think the Kaito x Shinichi pairing selection was lacking a bit on the darker side of things. I needed to broaden my horizons and try something different... so after watching Fight Club I went and wrote this up as the Prologue. That is right. This will have more chapters.

For those who read the Manga, did you catch the reference?


	2. Chapter 2

**14 days ago**

"Are you sure this will work?" Haibara questioned for perhaps the fourth time that day and took a sip from her tea.

The three were sitting in Professor Agasa's living room where a large table had been set up earlier that morning for extra room and it was already piled high with folders, notes and blueprints.

Kaito hummed a non-committal noise from his throat not bothering to glance up from his work. Twirling the pencil between his fingers he mused over the large blueprint in front of him before jotting down a couple notes on a corner.

Shinichi, who was leaning back in his chair, had a folder splayed across his lap. He flipped through pages of information chin resting in a palm, "I am sure it will. Kaito has proven he can pull off a break in with little to no trouble on several occasions."

The scientist peered at him from over her cup, "I hope you made it clear to him that this is supposed to be a _secretive_ operation, right? We don't need any of that silly magic giving us away."

"Who do you think I am? Of course I did."

"I wonder." Haibara commented offhandedly earning a glare from the mini detective.

"Are you saying you don't enjoy my magic tricks, little lady?"

The two looked at Kaito who was leaning against the table, the end of the pencil sticking upright from pouted lips.

"This isn't some silly heist planned for a bunch of bumbling police officers." She retorted.

"Yes yes." Kaito answered with a wave of his hand, "As you said before, we are going up against a murderous organization who would kill us without a second thought. Trust me, I understand the seriousness of the situation."

She glared mutely at the magician who smiled disarmingly in return.

"Now now... Do you still have doubts about the information, Haibara?" Shinichi asked, expression serious.

That had to be a trick question. Haibara always had doubts and concerns when it came to the organization clothed in black.

"Nothing I haven't already expressed." She answered setting down her cup. She then smiled, "Don't worry. As soon as I get a new one, you'll be the first to know Kudou-kun."

Out of the three Haibara knew the most about the organization, what buildings They were likely to use as one of Their hide outs and just how smart They were when it came to staying in the shadows. The fact that Kaito had managed to come across one of the buildings was a miracle in itself. Or perhaps a trap disguised as a miracle.

In any case after weighing the options and much deliberation it had been decided that this was perhaps one of their few, if not only, chance to see if there was anything useful inside the building or perhaps find something related to the poison; it was no secret that Haibara had hit a rut in the formula for the antidote.

Still, Haibara had her reservations about the whole situation from the start; reservations which she had made clear to the two males sitting across from her. The organization wasn't so careless when it came to information (She was quite sure they likely wouldn't find anything on the poison) and as usual she thought Kudou was getting in over his head. Not that she blamed him; while Haibara didn't mind being stuck in the body of a child as much as Kudou did, she sometimes caught herself missing her adult form even if it was only from nostalgia's sake.

If she had to be truthful she was more concerned about her partner, Kudou and his friend, Kuroba. If Kudou's recklessness wasn't bad enough, coupling it with an eccentric magician who is just as reckless in his own right was, clearly, a recipe for disaster.

That was why she was sitting here watching the two plot their mission to infiltrate the building Kaito had found on the outskirts of Ekoda. It was an office or museum of some sort. She wasn't exactly sure because Kaito had been a bit too eager in his explanation and fumbled over some words. But from the description she got it would fit with the criteria. Nondescript; not something you'd give a second glance at but it didn't look run down. An average, quite common building with around ten floors and plenty of rooms - the ones he had checked out looked like office spaces.

Haibara had panicked at the idea that Kaito had already scoped out the place and the magician did his best to calm her ruffled feathers with words like, "I was careful not to get caught" or "I didn't stay long. In and out in under ten minutes."

The words did little to ease the scientist's apprehension but time did. A couple weeks had passed since the initial discovery and so far nothing to signify that the Organization knew it had been them, had surfaced.

Her attention returned to the two as Kaito had an arm around Shinichi's shoulders, smiling as he held his pencil over the mini-detective's mouth in the form of a mustache. The antics normally would have had her smiling but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to do so.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **A short chapter since this is going to be a rather segmented part of the story and I going on a... use as many or a little words as possible to convey what I want known per chapter... kinda way

To the people who left me reviews, let me first say that even though you've expressed your negativity in very different ways, I am pleased that you all took the time to actually read my story and leave your opinion. I appreciate all reviews, critic and ranting alike, and while a few of them stung I am not going to argue with you about them. However, I am going to clarify a few things.

**1:** Contrary to belief, I actually really like Haibara. And because I like Haibara, I am writing about her. It is also because I like her that I am choosing to explore a side of her that many people may not want to think exists. I think she has, like all humans, a trigger that if pushed can make someone to do something they would never consider. You may not like my interpretation of said trigger and some of you may not appreciate me toying with a favorite, established and quite popular character, but hopefully you'll be open to my ideas. Also my intent is not to insult the creator in any fashion and it never will be. =]

I will accept the fact that since this is my first time writing Haibara, there might be some (or a lot) OOCness. The way she talks perhaps. Or how she reacts. It is something I am working on as I try to adjust to her attitude and style. (Since there is practically almost 0 contact between Haibara and Kaito in the actual series, I have no clear cut example to show how she'd treat the thief)

**2:** Also contrary to belief Ran has not died, nor has Haibara killed her. Yes, she is mentioned in the prologue but no where does it clarify that she is the one who died and I hope the hints I dropped throughout were enough to reveal who actually did. For those who don't want to go back and try to find the hints here is the answer: the dove who died, aka the very precious person, is actually Kaito himself.

Yes, Kaito will reappear as I go over what happened before the murder but it is fact that he is indeed dead/gonna die. Also even though this is a KaiShin / KaiCon story, Haibara and Conan's relationship will be the focal point once I get back to where the Prologue left off. This is, after all, also a story about him hunting her.

Thank you all for reading, reviewing and to those who I haven't scared off... I hope I don't disappoint.! But If I do... well... I hope you can forgive me.


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